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A Look At New Martinsville Fire Chief, Rick Myers

By Rick Loy - Staff Writer | May 5, 2021

Chief Myers

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a 12-week series highlighting fire chiefs in Wetzel and Tyler County.

For the Myers family, firefighting is a family affair. New Martinsville Fire Department Chief, Rick Myers, has been around the fire department most of his life, following in the footsteps of his father, the late Howard Myers.

Rick officially joined the New Martinsville Fire Department in 1979, as a junior firefighter. At age 18, he became a senior firefighter.

Chief Myers has earned numerous certifications. To highlight just a few, he is a Firefighter Instructor for the state of WV, a rescue certified SCUBA Diver, Hazmat Technician, and is a certified Fire Officer Level III.

The New Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department serves to protect its immediate community of the Incorporated areas of the City of New Martinsville, as well as an extended community of neighboring sections of Wetzel & Marshall Counties in West Virginia.

Areas of Doolin Run Road, West Virginia Route #7, West Virginia Rt#20, Whiteman Hill, Wetzel/Tyler Ridge, Proctor, American Ridge, Limestone Ridge, Huff Ridge, Friendship Ridge, Proctor Creek Road & West Virginia Route #89 and various other areas.

Rick is the son of the late Howard Myers and Diane Riggenbach. He and his wife Dawn have been married for 28 years. Dawn works for the City of New Martinsville and is also a firefighter with the NMFD. They have two children, Olivia 26, and Clayton, 21.

Daughter Olivia Myers resides in Huntington, WV. She earned her MSW from Marshall University, and currently is a Shelter Supervisor at the Hovah Hall Underwood Children’s Home in Ona, WV. HHUCH is an emergency children’s shelter that cares for youth ages 10-18, from many locations in WV. Like her parents, Olivia is a certified firefighter in the state of WV.

Son Clayton Myers resides in New Martinsville. He earned his AAS in Instrumentation from Washington State University. He currently works at American Heavy Plate in Clarington, OH. In October, he will marry Gabrielle Mackey from Belpre, OH. Not surprisingly, Clayton is also a certified firefighter in WV and is an active member of the NMFD.

In addition to Chief Myer’s dedication to firefighting, he is the store manager at Ace Hardware, where he has been employed since September 1996.

Our community is fortunate to have many dedicated firefighters, with Chief Myers at the lead. He is a humble man, working extremely hard to provide the absolute best service to the citizens of New Martinsville, which includes the best training and equipment for the members of the department.

The New Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department is comprised of an all volunteer group of men and women who are required to complete a host of training requirements to serve on the department. Our fire fighters are required to complete the following classes: Fire Fighter 1, Fire Fighter 2, Emergency First Aid, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Incident Command, Auto Extrication-Awareness, Auto Extrication-Operations, High Angle Rescue, Swift Water Rescue Awareness, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Apparatus Driver/Operator, Hazardous Materials-Awareness, Hazardous Materials-Operations, National Incident Command System 100, National Incident Command System 200, National Incident Command System 300, National Incident Command System 400, National Incident Command System 700, Fire Officers are required to achieve certification as: The department Chief acquired certification as: Fire Officer 1 (Professional Board Qualifications, Fire Officer 2 (Professional Board Qualifications), Fire Officer 3 (Professional Board Qualifications), Fire Officer 4 (Professional Board Qualifications.

Thank you, Myers family, and the numerous other brave firefighters that help to keep our community safe.